


Goodbye

by ManlyQuail



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Light Angst, One Shot, Pre-RWBY, Rosebird, Summertime Sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-27 00:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18293282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ManlyQuail/pseuds/ManlyQuail
Summary: Before her final mission, Summer takes the time to try to reconnect with an old friend.





	Goodbye

Atop a hill overlooking the city, a young woman sat with her eyes greedily staring at the picnic basket by her side. Her mind was playing over the items within, knowing how delicious each was, as she had made and packed them herself. From the sandwiches with the freshest ingredients, to the neatly cut and stored fruits, as well as the soft and scrumptious chocolate chip cookies that awaited her and her guest. Her mouth salivated at the thought, and her hands clenched in her lap as she did her best to resist.

_ I can probably afford a cookie… _

Glancing around her nervously, crimson tipped black hair flipped side to side as she gazed all around the hill, the woman gulped slightly as her eyes lingered on the basket once again. Turning away once more, her eyes scanned the sky, finding only thin wispy clouds floating within the sea of blue above on the warm sunny afternoon. Taking a steady breath, her heart pounding, the woman’s hand slowly extended towards the basket.

_ Since I packed them only I’ll know how many there were. I just need to make sure to get the chocolate off my teeth, she’ll never know… _

As her hand grew closer, fingertips brushing gently across the woven wicker basket, she teased open the lid just enough to see inside. Giving another cautious glance around her, guilt being overridden by desire, the woman reached in and fumbled blindly with the lid to the cookie container. Her eyes were wide, pulse racing, as she licked her lips in anticipation, when a sudden breeze caught her by surprise.

The breeze turned to a gust of powerful wind that began to roar from behind her, causing the red and white checkered spread beneath her to begin to whip violently around. The corners came up, rolling over one another, as dirt and grass coated the previously clean sheet.

“NO!” With a dramatic shout, the woman tore her hand from the basket and dove out across the picnic blanket in an attempt to flatten it back out. Her arms and legs stretched as far as she could in all directions, forcing the fabric down until the wind came to a halt.

From behind her an armored woman stepped onto the hill from a swirling portal of black and red, wind blowing out around her. Hearing the shout of someone, she immediately gripped onto the sheathed sword at her side, spinning the rotary chamber as she tried to gauge what style of attacks she might need for whatever situation she’d found herself in.

Instead, finding no enemies in any direction, she found herself staring down at the flat and spread eagle woman clinging desperately to a checkered blanket.

“Summer, what the hell are you doing?” The woman released the grip on her weapon, the winds rushing past her fading away as the portal behind her sealed itself, vanishing entirely as if it were never there. She watched as Summer continued to wiggle herself around on the picnic sheet, doing her best to make it as flat and square as possible, before rolling onto her side and looking up at her companion.

“Oh, hey Raven! I was just uhh, you know… stretching?” Summer offered up a fake smile as she extended her arms out again, making noises to suggest she was straining herself, before relaxing slightly with a defeated pout. “Well, if you must know, I was trying to salvage the picnic I’d set up. Everything was all perfectly arranged and  _ clean _ until a certain someone decided to portal in a freakin hurricane!”

Raven raised her eyebrow, brushing away lengthy strands of black hair from her face, letting them drape down her back and past her waist. She looked down at the picnic setup, the once brightly colored picnic blanket now covered in a thin layer of dirt and grass clippings. The basket, at the very least, appeared to have sustained little to no damage from the wind, and she shook her head with a sigh.

“I mean, can’t you fly! Or better yet just  _ walk _ like a normal person?” Summer continued to mumble as she looked away from Raven, trying to dust off the fabric, picking out small bits of grass in continued attempts to tidy up.

“Portals are faster, and frankly I didn’t think I’d be staying that long. Your message was a little vague, but I just assumed we’d have a little chat and I’d be on my way. I didn’t expect…” Raven gestured outwards to the setup, frowning slightly as she glanced once more to the basket. “Well certainly not all of this.”

“Surprise?” Summer provided an awkward smile up to her friend, who only shook her head and let out a heavy sigh.

“Summer, while I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, I have more important things that I need to tend to. So if you’ll excuse me…” Raven turned from the girl, gripping the blade once more and focusing intensely on a woman from her tribe. She could feel the world between her and her target seem to shrink, the many miles between them becoming smaller, miles turning to yards, to feet, to inches…

“At least stay for a cookie!” Raven blinked at the sudden urgency in Summer’s voice. She turned to see the girl raising a plastic tub containing rather large chocolate chip cookies. Her head was bowed, and Raven could see the plastic bending inwards from the pressure of the girl’s hands. Taking a heavy breath, Raven loosened the grasp she had around her sword, and couldn’t help but crack the smallest of smiles.

“It has been a while since I had one of these.” Raven popped the sealed lid open, the aroma of chocolate and sugar immediately permeating the air as she reached a gloved hand inside. The scent brought waves of nostalgia through her body as she lifted a cookie from the container. She watched as Summer’s eyes shot up to her own, eagerly awaiting the first bite. Raven couldn’t help but feel amusement at the girl’s expression as she bit into the soft treat, closing her eyes to focus on the flavor as the grin grew slightly.

“Well?” Summer’s lips were pursed as she awaited judgement, and for a moment Raven feigned contemplation. She raised a hand to her chin, looking towards the sky as if deep in thought, before looking down at her with a nod. Raven took another bite of the cookie, and Summer wasted no time in digging out her own.

Raven took a seat beside Summer, the two quietly enjoying their dessert, ignoring the rest of the food in the basket entirely. They gazed out at the setting sun, enjoying the calm and peaceful silence. The two’s gazes left the sun, finding one another. They sat, Raven staring into Summer’s silver eyes while her mind played through the memories they shared, before her smile faded and she turned away.

“I can’t imagine you called me out of the blue to share a cookie and a sunset.” Raven lay back on the sheet, having set her weapon beside her, and stared up at the sky. Her red eyes moved from cloud to cloud, briefly imagining what sorts of shapes or figures she could find, before turning her gaze back to Summer.

“I guess we’re going to skip the small talk then…” The smile Summer had been holding onto faded as well, and she took on a more melancholy expression.

Lifting herself up slightly, Raven rolled to her side, sensing the sudden shift in mood as Summer gazed back at her.

“I have a mission coming up, and it might be one of the most important and dangerous I’ve ever been on. I was wondering if you’d be willing to, ya know… tag along? It could be just like old times.” Summer chuckled lightly and Raven rolled her eyes. Letting out a huff to blow a stray piece of hair out of her face, Raven shook her head.

“You know, you’ve always been the one that’s been able to draw me back any time I tried to leave.” Raven smirked, staring up once more to the sky as Summer gave her a confused look. “Ever since Beacon, ever since STRQ formed, you always felt like the thing that held everyone together, the one person that convinced me to stick around for as long as I did.”

Raven closed her eyes, lost in thought, and Summer furrowed her brow in concern. She watched Raven avoid the question completely, seeming to go on some sort of unrelated tangent.

“But things change…” Raven’s eyes opened slowly, the smirk turning to a frown as she looked up at Summer. “I’m not a Huntress anymore Summer, not some starry eyed girl looking to go on missions with her friends. I left that life behind, and I wish you’d come with me when I did.”

“You know that was never an option Raven. After everything Oz has taught us, with everything I know about the state the world is in, I couldn’t bear the thought of trying to hide from it all. I of all people have a responsibility to fight in this war…” Summer looked away, raising a hand to her cheek, skimming a finger along the underside of her eyes.

“No, you don’t. This isn’t our fight, it never was. All of what Oz told us, everything we know, is because he’s dragged us into  _ his _ fight. Turned us into his  _ pawns _ to fight a battle he could never win. A fight  _ we _ could never win Summer.” Raven snarled slightly, thoughts of Ozpin rolling through her head. She felt her blood start to boil as she pictured his face, her hands balling into fists, before taking a few steady breaths to calm herself. “The best we’d even do is die trying.”

“It doesn’t matter if he dragged us into it or not. I’m a target, Raven, I was  _ born _ a target. These eyes make it so that even if I didn’t want to fight, I don’t have a choice in the matter.” Summer frowned to Raven, feeling as if they'd had this conversation dozens of times by this point.

“Then that's all the more reason to leave. By staying, you're only putting everyone else at risk. Instead, make the choice to come with me to the tribe Summer. You’re strong, you’ll fit in with us and be a valuable asset, and if worst comes to worst I promise that I will be there to protect you.” Raven gave a soft smile, a brief weakness coming through her usual survival of the fittest mentality. She knew Summer would never need her protection, but part of her would always offer it, something she did for no other person.

“Like you protected Spring?” Summer watched as Raven’s eyes went wide, the smile on her lips vanishing, replacing it with a curl as she glared back at her. A short time ago Raven had shared with Summer the story of the previous Maiden, knowing that if anything had ever happened to her, Summer would no doubt be the last in her thoughts. The conversation had been brisk, but Summer had sworn the story to secrecy.

“Spring was different and you know that. She was too weak to handle the powers she’d been given and what I did was the right thing to do. If anything, I did Oz a favor. He doesn’t have to worry about his precious Maiden’s powers falling into enemy hands anymore.” Summer hardly looked convinced, and Raven raised her voice in frustration. “What would you have had me do Summer? Train a girl too fragile to ever last in a real fight? To let her live her life only to die in vain because she wasn’t strong enough and risk those powers ending up somewhere else?”

Summer sat in silence, listening to Raven shout at her in anger. She gave a meek look to Raven, watching her take a series of heavy breaths as her heart pounded with rage.

“Did I ever tell you about my daughter?” Summer’s words were soft and almost too quiet to hear but Raven snapped briefly from her fury at the sudden change in subject. Blinking a few times, she gave a slow nod.

“Ruby, wasn’t it? What about her?” Raven relaxed her fists slightly, though she remained heated as she listened.

“My precious little Ruby. She’s still so small, but I can already tell she plans to be a Huntress. She’s loves fairy tales, stories of heroes, tales of defeating evil...” Summer looked away, smiling softly to herself as she thought lovingly of her daughter. “When she was born, it was both the happiest, and most frightening moment of my life.”

Summer looked up to the sky, pulling her knees to her chest as she felt tears start to well in her eyes. She turned back to Raven, smiling brightly as her mind was filled with images of Ruby.

“People are always telling me how much she looks like me. From her hair, to her smile, to her eyes…”

The two shared a lengthy gaze, and Raven could feel her anger subside as she took a shaky breath. Pursing her lips, Raven let out a heavy sigh, looking away from Summer and gazing out towards the city.

“I don’t have the luxuries you think I do, to just leave it all behind because of some misguided sense that it’s the right thing to do.” Summer raised her arm to her face, wiping the tears trickling across her cheeks across her sleeve. “I won’t abandon them Raven, and I won’t tear them away from a normal childhood to teach them that when times are tough, the best option is to cut and run. I won’t do it to Ruby, and I won’t let Yang go through it a second time.”

What felt like another punch to the gut caused Raven to stand, unable to respond. She turned to look down at Summer, the beautiful woman looking up at her with such confidence and determination. Summer stood, extending a hand to Raven.

“Come back to us Raven. STRQ needs you, your family needs you, and I know if we stand any chance of winning this war, it would be together.”

Raven stared into Summer’s eyes, and even as watery as they were, there was an undeniable draw to them. Something that instilled her with a tiny spark of hope, a desire to return, a confidence that maybe, just maybe, they could actually win this fight. Her arm began to raise, almost unconsciously, as her fingers stretched out towards Summer’s hand. She began to picture the life she would return to, with her daughter waiting, her team…

And Ozpin.

Her hand froze in the air, Raven’s fingers only an inch from Summer’s, when she instead closed it and pulled away. Summer’s confidence seemed to shrink, her shoulders sinking as she lowered her arm, the beautiful smile she’d been maintaining fading away. Raven crouched, picking up the belt with her weapon sheath attached and clipping it around her waist.

“You’ve made your choices Summer, and I’ve made mine.” Gripping onto the handle of the weapon, the inner mechanism twirled until a series of red dust blades were present in the front. Withdrawing the blade, Raven turned her back to Summer. “Goodbye.”

“Raven wait…” Summer took a step towards Raven and extended her hand again, staring at the seemingly endless black locks travelling down her back, and watched as Raven raised her sword in the air.

“I said goodbye Summer.” Raven’s voice was loud, though shaky, and Summer could detect the faintest signs of hesitation.

As Raven brought the sword down in a slashing motion, the area before her seemed to split open into a whirring red and black portal identical to the one she’d entered from. As she stepped towards the portal, Raven could feel a single tear escape her eye, before she vanished from the hill entirely.

Summer watched her friend disappear, her arm extended as if she could still pull her back. Her eyes fell to the ground, to the picnic area around her that she’d set up. The food had gone uneaten, the blanket had been ruined, and everything she’d hoped for in this encounter had failed to happen. She brought her hands to her chest, fighting back another wave of tears as she looked back to where the portal had been.

“Goodbye Raven...”


End file.
